A survey executed by MT Finance has found that 40 per cent of brokers in the mortgage industry expect the property market to take around six to nine months to recover.
27 per cent of those surveyed had a gloomier outlook, allowing a timescale of a year or more, while 15 per cent are optimistic of a bounce back within six months.
On the wider economy, 54 per cent see it taking six to 12 months to get back to where it was at the start of the year, while 14 per cent see a recession on the horizon.
The majority of mortgage lenders and brokers and those working in the bridging and development finance space were forced to put any lending on hold during the covid-19 lockdown, or only work on existing deals already underway.
No property auctions have been able to take place in recent weeks, which is often a driver of commercial deals.
Whilst mortgage lenders across the UK have confirmed that there will be greater restrictions on their lending criteria, most banks have been able to uphold any mortgage offers for at least three months. However, there is a risk of those who were previously granted mortgage offers that they will no longer be viable once coronavirus passes.
MT Finance commercial director Gareth Lewis says: “These results offer an interesting insight into just how long those working in the industry believe the UK property market and wider economy will take to recover.
“While the government’s furlough scheme has evidently had a positive impact on unemployment- some further government stimulus would be very welcome to resurrect the property market once lockdown is lifted, such as a stamp duty holiday or concessions.”MT Finance, which specialises in bridging finance, certainly has an important role to play in the market with other competitors such as Masthaven and Precise. When borrowers cannot access mortgages, bridging can often be seen as an effective way to complete on a deal in a short timeframe.